Life in the Slow Lane

In 2006, as a support platform for her forthcoming book, The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, Sharon Lippincott launched her blog titled The Heart and Craft of Life Writing.  Sharon’s blog and her book have both been successful in teaching other writers, providing author interviews, and covering all aspects of writing.  Thousands have cybernetically and in real-time sat at the feet of one of the best writing teachers of today.

Now, some 550 plus posts later, Sharon, has brought to her readers yet another book, The Heart and Craft of Writing Compelling Description: Selected Blog Posts From The Heart and Craft of Life Writing.  A compilation of Sharon’s best blog posts on descriptive writing, most of which — no almost all of which — I have read. And still they continue to resonate with me on reading them again.  I found myself highlighting once more new passages which will improve my writing.

To give you a sense of the tips Sharon so eagerly shares, a few quotes from the book:

“Once you find a reliably good author, use these tips to make your reading do double duty for you:

“Take notes. . . . “Analyze. . . . “Review it [the book]. . . . “Discuss it. . . .”

Another reads:  “Reading a concentrated collection of pure excellence continues to prime my creativity pumps.”

About magic:  “I do believe in magic, and the magic I believe in is the appearance of the unexpected, that which is not ordinarily possible.”

One last one:  “When you read, you are developing a sense of what good writing looks and sounds like.  That’s the writer’s equivalent of knowing what the ball looks and feels like going into the basket.”

These are just a few of the gems I’ve highlighted in this new work on writing, specifically writing compelling description.  I’ll be adding these to my database of writing goodies for future reference.

If you’re looking for a book written by an inspiring author and writer, you can’t go wrong picking up this one.  Sharon writes in a comfortable, conversational voice sharing with you as if you were sitting over coffee talking.  Her wit and wisdom combine to make her a teacher whose students come back again and again for more.

I encourage you to not only buy Sharon’s book but to also subscribe to her blog. Your writing life will be enriched, and I assure you won’t be disappointed.

More about Sharon:

• Whimsical, creative, endlessly curious, constantly evolving, unfazed by limits, a serious geek.
• Author of three books, The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, The Albuquerque Years, and Meetings: Do’s, Don’ts, and Donuts, the popular Heart and Craft of Life Writing blog, the Writing for the Health of It blog, and over 700 stories and essays.
• A life writing teacher and coach.
• In demand as a dynamic program and conference speaker.
• Co-founder and co-host of the Life Writer’s Forum on Yahoo Groups, the Memoir subgroup of Writing Maria on LinkedIn, and National Association of Memoir Writers Advisory Board member.